Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 574 Alcohol Thief

Feeling excited about the eastern alcohol, Alice asked around for the best bar in the city that didn't require her to book a time.

The answers were varied but every so often, people would say the same name.

Jade Lounge.

It was a bar that was located a little higher than average and allowed a view over the city. Unlike the other stores that are also located high up in the tall buildings, this one wasn't a private store so anyone could walk in.

Everyone who mentioned the Jade Lounge had good things to say about it. Their variety of alcohol, the food that came with it and so on.

However, just saying the drinks were 'good' wasn't enough for Alice. There was no mention of how it tastes or anything like that. She had to try it herself to find out if it was worth the popularity.

Now that she knew what bar she wanted to go to, finding directions was easy.

With the city being more focused on verticality, there were naturally lifts to help traverse the floors.

But Alice decided to walk. After all, if these lifts were also made by Suyin, she'll be bombing the damn building!

"Quick! Stop the thief!!!" A man's voice shouted out as Alice gave it a quick glance.

She could see a middle aged man drinking some alcohol while running from several people who were finding it hard to catch up.

He wore a set of old tattered clothing, clearly patched together using fabric from other clothes. Aside from the old clothing, he wore a set of loose fitting pants and wooden sandals. His hair was medium length and dishevelled with a face full of uneven stubbles.

"He stole our prized alcohol!!!"

"Stop criminal scum! You have violated the law!" Alice shouted out as she blocked the man from continuing further.

She didn't care if he was simply running away with stolen goods. But to not pay money for alcohol? The blood sweat and tears of those who brewed it? Blasphemy!

"Ahh? Who the f*ck are you?" The middle aged man raised an eyebrow with a frown.

"Doesn't matter, what matters is that you tried to skimp out on alcohol money."

Snapping her fingers, blood tendrils jumped out from the ground as it tried to grab the man.

But before his limbs could be caught, he twisted his body and weaved out of it.

"!!!"

Bridging the gap between him and Alice, the man reached up for an uppercut.

His movements were strange, uneven and disorganized as Alice leaned back to dodge.

But the uppercut was a feint.

Alice could feel his leg hooking against her ankle as he tried to sweep her off her feet.

Quickly stepping back, Alice went in for a throat jab but the man only grinned.

*BANG!!!

Widening her eye, Alice didn't even know what had happened as she felt a hand strike her ribs. Furrowing her brows, Alice stomped down and created a blood pool.

Seeing that she was using Sigil powers, the man took a drink of his alcohol and spat it out.

*BOOM!!!

Flames erupted from the alcohol, burning away her blood and turning it into fumes.

"Foolish choice!"

Activating her first Sigil, Alice dragged him into a hallucination.

"Are you sure about that?" He laughed, taking another drink before tossing the alcohol in the air.

Flickering in front of Alice, he jabbed her twice on the chest before she could react.

'Twinnie let me!'

Quickly taking over, Alyss parried the next two jabs before entering a counter of her own. She slammed her shoulder into his torso, pushing him away then followed up with a triple kick combo.

Back of the knee, side of the head and a heel kick down from above.

The first two hit by the third he grabbed and flipped her over his head.

"Did a ghost take over? Your flow completely changed." The man asked, catching the drink. At this point, the men chasing him were about to catch up.

"I don't have all the time in the world so let's finish this quick alright?" He smirked before going serious.

Stomping down with his sandals, an invisible zone expanded in an instant as Alyss widened her eye.

A flurry of kicks, palm strikes and punches burst out in an instant with Alyss barely being able to parry half of them and forced to dodge the others in strange manners that broke apart her balance.

Kicking out with his foot, the man prevented Alyss from regaining her balance before slamming a one inch punch against the stomach, sending her crashing into the nearby wall.

"Not bad kiddo, but try again next time." He laughed, turning around and prepared to jump away.

However, a portal appeared beneath his feet. A hand grabbed his ankle, slamming him down against the pavement.

"Where do you think you're going, the fight isn't over yet." Alyss glared, getting Alice's help momentarily to stop the man from leaving.

"Tsk tsk tsk, youngin's these days can't take a loss at all. Fine, let this unc teach you a lesson." The old man massaged his shoulder.

Alyss knew the man in front of her was strong. She couldn't let her guard down and more importantly, she refused to lose in close quarters combat!

The instant the man took a step forward, he disappeared!

Alyss's instincts screamed at her to dodge as she stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding his heel strike. But he wasn't phased by her dodge.

"All instinct no refinement. You should go back to your martial school and study well." His voice rang out as Alyss turned around to catch him.

Unfortunately, the man jabbed her twice to make her lose balance before punching down with his fist.

*BANG!!!

Slamming against the pavement and cracking it apart, Alyss felt the wind knocked out of her lungs.

Giving her a lazy wave, the old man took a drink before running away again.

He could tell that she never had anyone teach her how to fight. All her moves were based solely on instinct and experience.

'What a shame.' He thought to himself. If she got the training she needed, then he might've had a little trouble.

At that moment, he felt a surging killing intent behind him as though a beast had just broken free.

An overwhelming sense of flight told him to run.

There was no instinct to fight a all!

Quickly turning around, he could see Alyss picking herself off the ground while glaring at him.

The killing intent soon faded away as she took a deep breath to calm her mind.

One more exchange, that was all she wanted. To figure out exactly what she was lacking in close quarters combat. Thus far, she has only beaten those who are weaker than her. Yet when the going gets tough, she kept failing to keep up.

She hated it.

As twins, they delegate tasks that they are weak at to the other.

Alice handles range and casting. While she can fight close quarters combat, she finds casting much easier.

The opposite was for Alyss.

But at the rate of Alice's growth, soon Alyss wouldn't even get a chance to intervene.

She could already sense that her twin was reaching her level when it came to fighting close quarters combat.

She had to rise in the face of adversity!

"Fight me like you mean it!" Rushing forward, Alyss wide right hook as the man caught it.

Quickly reversing the situation and grabbing his wrist instead, Alyss ducked into his range and tried to throw him over her shoulder but he felt like a mountain on her back!

"Tch!"

Going for an elbow, her attack was caught easily as the man pushed her forward and attacked with a double kick.

Guarding her torso, Alyss blocked before ducking down to avoid his next hit. She tried to jab him in the chest during this but he caught it once more and directed it off to the side then slammed a palm into her stomach.

Sliding back, Alyss was ready to charge forward but he was already gone.

"I'll fight you properly if we meet again. But unc wants his drinks today and got no time to play~"

A vein bulged on her neck as Alyss could feel annoyance rising in her chest.

He disappeared just like that. No clue on where to find him or anything.

Ignoring the guards that were asking if she was alright, Alyss walked away in annoyance.

'I know what I want to do here now.' Alyss suddenly spoke up as both Alice and Cayla glanced over.

'This place teaches close quarters combat right? Ria mentioned that they were the best in the past. Do you think we have time to check out the different schools that they have?' Alyss asked as her plan was simple.

They didn't have the time or leisure to properly learn everything. Instead, she'll fight.

She fight, fight and keep fighting to rack up the experience.

She'll observe what makes their fighting effective, the weaknesses and what she can take for herself. Stay connected via empire

Alyss will hammer the knowledge into her mind so that it becomes second nature to her.

'Of course, we should have plenty of time to check out the martial arts of the east.' Alice nodded with a smile.

Since her twin wanted to learn, who was she to say no? Plus, Alyss had been putting up with her shenanigans all this time. So it was only right for Alice to let her indulge in her own desires.

Plus, she too was interested in this martial arts herself. She wanted to see if she could improve her current fighting style of quick jabs, parries and kicks.

Looking up at the mountain in the distance with countless people walking up the steps, Alice could see occasional bursts of energy on the mountain peak.

No doubt a fight. If they wanted to spar with people, that mountain might be a good start.